Method and apparatus for milking.



D. T. SHARPLES. METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WIILIAING.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.9| |916.

Patented Spt. A, 119W.

AVED WWWNSEND SHLPJPLES, @E "WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLWJJFIA.

METHB AND APPARATUS .'EOo lVllLhlItClG,

, .application tiled August il, i916.

To @ZZ whom t may conce/m:

Be it lrnoivn that i, Devin lowivsnnn ,Si-tannins, a citizen ot the United States, residing at West Chester, in the county ot t' Chester and State ot Pennsylvania, have in vented an improved Method and Apparatus ior t/iillring, ot which the following is a specification.

y iirrentio.4 is an improved inethod and apparatus tor extracting noillr by suclring, pulling and pressing the teats ot the animal, and its leading object is to eect clean and -eilicient without injury or irritafu a sinnle manner.

tnie red practice ot my invention, the hi nniinal are subjected to the ci or partial vacuum and, aneously or in immediate sequence i downward pull, followed' by ci pressure, continuously if nas been extracted. This oped a teat cup containing ratef' denible niernber forming sepai having restricted coin nation with pneumatic y exhausts one ot the cornrtial vacuum to a teat app s a weight to the y revvith applies pressure ously exhausted compartment, eirible rneniher against the teat Witho awe the Weight applied thereto sting action and characteristic Aleatures or are fully disclosed the tolqation and the accompanying stration thereof. ings, Figure l is a diagram tional elevation ot mechanism Jpted :ter the practice oiE my invention; l llig.v 2 is a diagrammatic sectional ele* a ion or a inodiiied construction.

The mechanism illust-rated in Fig., l ot drawings comprises a teat cup l containm the rubber tube or pocket 2 provided the hottom slit or opening 3 and having its top lined detachably in the top off the cup. in any usual manner, the tube forming Within the cup the compartments l and 5 adapted to coidnunicate through the opening.

The bottoni ot the cup l is provided with a nipple 6 which is connected by a exible tube l with a nipple 8 ot a claw 9, and the clavv is provided with a nipple 10 vvhich is connected by a flexible tube 1l with a nozzle i2 provided with an adjustable check valve .unica Specification of Letters Eat-ent.

l L v @atenten Serial Eto. mute?.

i3, the nozzle delivering to any suitable receptacle or conduit la.

The teat cup l has connected therewith a tube l5 communicating with the compartment ,et tube 16 has an end thereot telescoped on the tree end ot the tube l5 and is provided with a. clanip l?, ivhereby the tivo tubes are adapted to be lined together in the desired relation, close relationship being effected by the packing ring lil :lined on the bottom or the tube i5 and the packing ring 19 fixed in the top ot the tube l@ L ill closed cylinder 20, containing the coiled spring 2i and the 'Flexible ba or bellows 2l, l

A ons thereol. i clieclt valve till may be placed at any convenient place the air line, asin the head oi" the cylinder 26, and is adjustable to regulate the pressure, which inay be that et the atinom phere but preferably a superior pressure.

eration, the cliainbered device .2d norma y rests upon the ground or other pport and cut l is applied by loosenw ing the clamp adjusting the tube l5 in the tube unt the teat 3l has been uroperly entered in the compartment el, and tastening the clanip so as to hold the adjustrnent. The rearward nier/'erneut ci't the pis-- ton :29 in the cylinder 2G e nausts tie air line comprising the parts 2l, 28, Ql, lo, ttl, l, and 2, 'whereby the teat 3l is dravvn into the compartment l so that the cup is pneuinati cally held to the udder. llll'hen the vacuuna .has increased sulciently, so that the enw ternal pressure overcornes the resistance of the spring 2l, the mechanism comprising the parts 20, 2l and 22 is collapsed, the cylinder 20 rises troni the ground, the Weight ot this mechanism and that previously supu ported thereby is applied to the teat, and the milk liovvs and collects in the outer corau partrcent 5 and its connections i', 9, and ll. lln the reverse movement ot the piston, as the vacuum decreases, the spring 2l expands, the cylinder 20 moves dovvn to its support, the suction on the teat is relieved, the opening 3 in the teat pocket 2 closes as a check and, as the pressure increases, the collected milk is forced out, against the action of the valve 13, into the receptacle 14, the teat pocket is pressed so as to squeeze the teat and the teat cup is pressed up against the udder of the cow, to prevent the pocket from being forced out or the teat from being forced out of the cup.

My invention may be embodied in different forms. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the teat cup comprises the shell section 32 and the telescoping shell section 33, provided with the supporting leg 34, in combination with the flexible tube or pocket 35 having its top engaged in the top of the section 32 and its bottom provided with the slot or openi 36.

he section 32 is provided with a tube or nipple 37 which is connected by the tube 38 with the pump 39. The section 33 is provided with the discharge orice or spout 40 which is normally closed by a check valve 41 which rocks on the fulcrum 42 and is held closed normally by the adjustable spring 43. A. coiled spring 45 is connected with the parts 32 gand 33 so as to resist any tendency ofthe part 32 to move downward away from the teat in operation.

As in the previously described form of the invention, the teat 44 is placed in the pocket 35 and the section 32 is adjusted in the section 33 to obtain the desired relation of the cup to the udder, the telescoping parts bein held in the desired relation in any suita le manner, as by friction. When the parts are properly adjusted, at the beginning of' the operation, the teat cup is supported by the leg or strut 34 which rests or may rest on the ioor and the teat is held in the pocket. In the exhausting action of the pump, the teat is subjected to a partial v vacuum and is pulled by the weight of the teat cup, for the shell is collapsed as a result of the partial vacuum therein, the section 33 moving up on the section 32 so that the leg 34 is withdrawn from its support. The milk is thus caused to flow from the teat, and is held in the bottom of the shell 33. In the reverse action of the pump, the pocket 35 is collapsed, the opening 36 is closed, the section 33 moves down until the leg 34 rests upon its support, the pocket 35 is pressed against the teat, the sectionv 32 is pressed up against the udder, the valve 41 is opened, and the milk is discharged through the orifice 40 to any suitable conduit or receptacle.

The simplicity of the constructions required for effecting eiciently the desired' operation which can be readily adjusted to the peculiarities of the animal, has the incidental advantages that the parts through which the milk flows are few, readily separated and readily cleaned, while adaptability for delivering milk to any ordinary receptacle adds a further obvious incidental advantage. y

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. The method of milking which consists in applying a sucking or exhausting action and traction to the teat and alternately therewith compressing the same.

2. The method of milking which consists in compressing the teat and applying an upward thrust to the udder and alternately therewith applying a sucking or exhausting action and traction to said teat.

3. The mechanism for milking which comprises means for applying a sucking or exhausting action and compression alternately to the teat and means for intermittently applying traction thereto simultaneously with the suction.

4. The mechanism for milking which comprises means for applying compression to the teat and producing an upward thrust against the udder alternately with applying a sucking or Vexhausting action and traction to the teat.

5. The mechanism` for milking which comprises a teat cup provided with a perforated flexible member forming communicating compartments therein, pneumatic means for providing alternating pressure and suction in said compartments, a conduit for discharging milk from said cup and a check valve for said conduit.

6. The mechanism for milking which comprises a teat cup, means for applying pressure and suction alternately thereto, and means whereby said suction applies weight to the cup.

7. The mechanism for milking which comprises a teat cup, a chambered device having relatively movable parts, normally supported independently of the animal, a duct connecting said teat cup and device, and means for alternately exhausting and applying pressure in said parts to effect the relative movement thereof.

8. The mechanism for milking which comprises a teat cup having communicating compartments, a pump, and a pneumatic line connecting said cup and pump, said line comprising a device having relatively movable parts collapsed by suction and exl @am l1. The mechanism for which comprises a teat cup, a milk conduit leadingV whereby said device is connected with said cup.

12. The mechanism for milking which comprises a teat cup provided with a perfol-ated flexible member forming two compartments therein, one of said compartments adapted for rw a teat, and a milk conduit and a pneumatic line connected with the other of said'compartments, said milk conduit provided with a check valve and said pneumatic line comprising a collapsible device having relatively -movable parts, a spring for normally separating said parts, and a conduit adjustable in length and flexibly connected with one of said parts.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name this 5th day ofAug., 1916.

DAVID TOWNSE lil t if 

